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GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin appears most often at rallies alongside the top of the ticket, John McCain.
AP Photo

According to her handlers, Sarah Palin’s schedule is light on media interviews and fundraisers because she’s so popular with the Republican base that her time is better spent on the campaign trail.

But she hasn’t been hitting the hustings much, either, and her relatively sparse campaign schedule underscores the McCain campaign’s struggle to develop a strategy for effectively deploying its vice presidential candidate.

Large chunks of time in Palin’s public schedules have gone mostly unaccounted for since John McCain selected her to be his running mate late last month.

Since then, Palin, the governor of Alaska, has held a grand total of 17 events that were open to the general public, and many of those were joint appearances in which she stumped at McCain’s side. In fact, she’s only done five rallies by herself.

That’s well off the average pace for a modern vice presidential candidate, and Palin’s public schedule shows no signs of becoming more vigorous anytime soon.

After a Monday afternoon joint rally with McCain in Columbus, Ohio, she retreated to the Arizona senator’s Sedona, Ariz., ranch for a couple days of preparation before her Thursday debate with Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate.

By contrast, Biden, a Delaware senator, has held more than 40 events open to the general public, and only eight of them have been with his running mate, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. It must be noted that Biden has been a vice presidential candidate for one week longer than Palin has.

Still, the McCain campaign downplayed the idea that Palin is carrying a light campaign trail schedule.

“We’re being smart about where she goes, because her time is so valuable and so many people are interested in seeing her,” said a Palin aide who did not want to be identified discussing campaign strategy. The aide pointed out that in the past week — during which Palin held only one public event — Palin kept busy in New York, meeting with the leaders of seven countries and receiving her first national security briefing.

The aide called accommodating demands for Palin a “good challenge” and said “the overwhelming enthusiasm and excitement for Gov. Palin on the trail is clear by the sheer numbers of people coming out to see her.”

When Palin has attended rallies by herself or with McCain, they have drawn larger and more energetic crowds than have McCain-only events.

At Palin’s last solo rally — Sept. 21 at an Orlando, Fla.-area retirement community called The Villages — she drew the largest crowd of any single Republican event this cycle.

“Palin wows Villages,” story read the front page of the next day’s Orlando Sentinel, which featured a positive, nearly 1,000-word story about the rallies and included photographs of Palin and the massive crowd, which estimates placed between 23,000 and a harder-to-believe 60,000.

That’s valuable press, particularly considering the drubbings Palin’s taken after most of her handful of national media appearances.

Palin has sprinkled her schedule with smaller, invitation-only events, including a debate-watching party last week at a Philadelphia Irish pub and a Sunday breakfast with Blue Star Moms.

But the McCain campaign could maximize Palin’s effect by unleashing her to do “rallies and town halls on her own in battleground states where she can make a difference,” said Brad Blakeman, a Republican strategist who ran advance operations for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign and went on to work in the Bush White House.

“Her best venue is probably speaking to large crowds. She gives a great campaign stump speech,” he said. “Her second-best venue is probably town halls, where she’s closer to the people. And then her national media exposure is probably her weakest point.”

“I’d also make her accessible to the local media,” he added. “Put a reporter in her car for 10 minutes, go on the local morning shows in these venues. They’re not out to get you. They’re so flattered that you’d even ask to do it.”

When will Obama or Biden be pressed on such issues as abortion the way McCain and Palin have been? Obama is even more "extreme" in his pro-choice stance than Palin is in her pro-life one. When will he be asked about the controversy surround the infant born alive legislation? Or the dispute with Gianna Jessen? As for Biden, the Catholic bishops and the head of the Knights of Columbus have criticized him for going against his faith's teachings. Will he be asked about that? He says he believes that life begins at conception, yet he accepts abortion: Isn't he then saying it's okay to kill a person??? Media Bias? Media blindness?

hey, Leefstrong, stop talking about religion and abortion and immigration meant just to **** people off and let's talk about war and the economy. That ****es me off. You guys, 8 years of ruining our country and now you want 8 more - for what? You've already robbed us blind. In my opinion, if you voted for Bush in 2004, your vote should be taken away because you are either you care too much about money or you are too stupid to vote.

The McCain campaign is treating Palin like a "Trophy Wife"... My Question, "Why does not Todd Palin step in?"

He has always 'preped' her, why not this time. Let Sarah go. SO WHAT IF SHE DOES NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF MCCAIN"S (somewhat skewed) positions...does he really want independents to think he needs a "Yes Man" when Obama has already selected a "stand-alone-maverick head" like Joe and given interviews about how he wants people around his administration that tell him their truths, opposit positions, debate his stance on any issue?

It's nice that the Republican base likes Palin but the job of the VP candidate is to go out and secure votes for the ticket. It means appealing to voters outside your base. That is not happening. Sarah Palin is a curiosity and that is her only value to the ticket.

Palin lies too much: selling plane on eBay, etc. But latest discovery from some Alaskan that went to her house location: She can not even see Russia using a telescope becasue ther is a small island (U.S.) blocking the line-of-sight. Who wrote her acceptance speech? Did she just read the teleprompter without read it before hand?

Face it McCain, you blew it. Palin's becoming a "laughing stock" and you treat her like dirt. Firstly, let her fly. If she crashes and burns, so be it. You might be surprised or are you afraid she'll upstage you and make you look like the confused old man of the past two weeks. Hopefully, Senator Palin can get her family back together after she "escapes" Sedona tomorrow. Wishing her no harm, but hoping this farce is over soon.

That’s valuable press, particularly considering the drubbings Palin’s taken after most of her handful of national media appearances

McCain is PRO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION - Just look at his choice for VP.

McCain nor his staff can answer this simple question: What is Governor Palin’s National Security/Foreign Policy experience?

All McCain’s supporters answer this question by either saying that she's more experienced than Obama or McCain has lots of experience. Both answers miss the point. Look at Sarah Palin from a purely objective and non-political viewpoint and judge her on her merits and qualifications to assume the Presidency should McCain, the 72 year-old, 4-time cancer patient, keel over on Jan 22, 2009. Without invoking or comparing her to Obama, tell me honestly how she is ready to assume the Presidency?

Can’t answer? In fact, no one from the McCain campaign or the GOP has given a straight answer to this. The man the GOP is supporting in this election reviewed and decided on Sarah Palin from among many willing and much more qualified Republicans. Why? Clearly, he did it for media attention, a few votes, and some campaign money. He chose her not because she provides a leadership insurance policy worthy of America and the free world, but to improve his own chances of gaining power. This sad and overtly superficial motive -and the real peril it places you, me, and our children in- is wholly inexcusable, regardless of who he is running against or where he stands in the polls.

At some point, the GOP is going to reach a point of no return in desperately supporting this most indefensible decision. How much more credibility can this battered party afford to lose? Do you think former Joint Chiefs Chairman / SECSTATE Colin Powell is going to endorse a Presidential ticket with Sarah Palin on it? REALLY??? Has any retired General or Admiral endorsed this pick? Does that matter to you? Because it darn sure matters to me, especially since we've got 200,000 American boys and girls in the middle of a war in two countries, and have rogue, unstable nuclear powers emerging in NE Asia and the Persian Gulf. The GOP is lost. We need to pick someone with some relevant experience and qualifications to protect our nation's securtiy . I don't say that as a Democrat or as a Republican, but as a conscientious American citizen. All the Republican hypocrisy over being against affirmative action and McCain passes over many more imminently qualified men and women to pick a NRA-loving, pro-life, nobody. That’s judgment we can trust (to ruin our country)!

McCainiacs, you keep smiling and push this clown and his gimmick sidekick, I am going to do my upmost to make sure my children are protected by leadership that was picked democratically (IE Obama’s primary win) or by undeniable qualifications (IE Joe Biden’s preeminent national security resume). As for Mrs. “Mainstream,” I’ll pass...this isn’t a contest for “Ms Congeniality,” though she’s actually won that prestige, this is about the security of our nation during a time of WAR! Which would you pick to do your open-heart surgery, a well-educated doctor; or Mr. “most-like-me-an-you?” Duh.

Sarah Palin was McCain's CHOICE - his judgement and his experience mad him decide to pick this political neophyte - a governor of a state with a whopping 670K citizens that is floating on oil who has - in her less than 2 years in office - had to deal with only one crisis...Firing an honest state employee because he wouldn’t illegally terminate a state trooper that happened to be divorcing the Governor’s sister - now that’s great Republican experience - worthy of Monica Goodling - though at least that nitwit had a phony law degree!

"She appeals to the bible thumpers, warmongers, and fundy loons, but the rest of America is laughing in their sleeves at her." I laugh out loud at her. I mean have you seen SNL, can't help it, it's funny.